Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

[ Eleventh Memory Fragment of the Legendary Volcano Island ]

– Rank: A

The slumbering volcano, dreaming of its resurrection, hid fragments of its memory on nearby small islands.

According to legend, when all 11 memory fragments are gathered, the volcano shall rise again.

The item info hovered in front of Su-ho’s eyes.

And the moment he read it, he found himself smiling once again—without even meaning to.

‘Finally. I’ve got them all.’

That was all the system said.

But Su-ho knew exactly what it meant.

‘The legendary volcano island refers to Jeju Island. And the volcano in question—it’s Hallasan.’

The eleven memory fragments drop from the Eleven Islands. And once all of them are gathered, a hidden gate reveals itself beneath Hallasan.

In his past life, this was known as the Hallasan Gate.

Sure, there had been plenty of so-called “Hallasan Gates” before.

The area around the mountain had always had an unusually high gate spawn rate.

‘Even Hwang Ga-on recently mentioned prepping for a Hallasan Gate.’

But the real Hallasan Gate?

Only one deserved the name—the gate ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) that opened through the collection of these memory fragments.

‘And if I’m right, that volcano power the sealed feather needs is probably obtainable from that gate too.’

Which meant... it wasn’t time to rush in just yet.

Preparation would be key.

‘I’ll regear and take my time challenging it later...’

Su-ho turned his attention to the next system message.

[ You’ve reached Level 160. ]

[ The system desires for you to grow even stronger. ]

[ The system grants you a gift of greater power. ]

Level 160.

Starting at Level 150, Crusaders gained a new class skill every 10 levels.

‘So at 160...’

Just as he thought.

He smiled while reading the new skill’s details.

No doubt about it—Mark of Agony was already great, and these Crusader-exclusive skills just kept delivering.

‘The only downside is that the ranks start low.’

But that wasn’t an issue.

As long as he had Skill Enhancement Pills, he could handle it.

Su-ho invested his two bonus stat points into Strength, then finally stepped out of the portal.

Fwoosh!

A flash of light greeted him.

Outside, the sun had already risen—it was morning.

“Mmm.”

The scent of the ocean breeze.

Su-ho looked around peaceful Marado with soft eyes.

No people. No monsters.

Just an untouched, natural island—pure and beautiful.

It truly was a paradise.

But even in this paradise, one thing was missing.

A way to get back.

The boat he’d arrived on had been destroyed by wind spirits.

So he was stranded—for now.

Still, it was fine.

Su-ho pulled out his phone and dialed Director Ion.

Thankfully, he had signal.

***

Bwoooom!

Of course it was Ion.

The moment he received Su-ho’s call, he immediately dispatched a team to send a new boat to Marado.

He also reported that the Tamra absorption operation was beginning.

Su-ho told him he trusted him and hung up.

He’d handle it.

After the call, Su-ho began checking his missed calls, accumulated while he was in the gate.

He started with Team Leader Jeong Cheol-min.

The moment he called, Cheol-min picked up.

– “Su-ho?”

“Yes, Team Leader. I’m in Jeju right now.”

– “Jeju? Why are you in Jeju?”

“I went to clear a sealed gate.”

– “A sealed gate? Wait... if it’s Jeju... don’t tell me—Marado?”

“Yes, sir.”

– “Wow... so? Did you clear it?”

“Yes. Just finished.”

– “You’ve done a hell of a job. Then that means there are no more sealed gates left in Jeju?”

“That’s right.”

He heard a laugh on the other end—dry and disbelieving.

Su-ho chuckled quietly as well.

“So, why’d you call me?”

– “Oh, nothing much. It’s just... the candidates for the Association President and Vice President were just announced. Did you hear anything?”

“No, sir. Who are the candidates?”

– “I sent them to you via text. Check it out and get back to me.”

“Got it. Will do.”

After hanging up, Su-ho opened the message.

And the moment he saw the list of candidates for Association President and Vice President—his brow furrowed.

“What is this?”

Seriously?

They finally managed to get rid of the rotten ones, and now they were trying to replace them with these clowns?

Su-ho rubbed his brow with his fingers.

The reason for his irritation was obvious.

The new candidates had nothing to do with the awakened world—no relevant experience at all.

“Haa...”

Su-ho began to think.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

He needed the President and Vice President to be competent people if he wanted to back Jeong Cheol-min for Head of the Special Division.

‘If these clueless types get the seats, they’ll just appoint their cronies.’

What to do...

After a moment’s contemplation, an idea came to mind.

‘Just let it be.’

Yes.

Let them take the positions.

The President and Vice President of the Association were appointed by the President of the country. Meaning, if Su-ho wanted to choose who sat there, he’d have to pressure the actual President.

And he didn’t want to go that far.

That would just cause too much noise.

So instead, he’d pressure someone else.

The incoming President and Vice President.

He’d start out offering sincere advice like a loyal subordinate.

And if they ignored him or tried anything shady—then he’d take them out.

‘From what I remember, none of the current candidates have a particularly great reputation anyway.’

Which meant he’d have to choose the lesser evil.

Honestly, unless it was someone like Jeong Cheol-min, none of them were good enough in his eyes.

So: lesser evil it was.

Su-ho picked up his phone and dialed Kim Geon.

– “Yes, Director?”

As expected, Kim Geon answered immediately.

Su-ho asked,

“You busy?”

– “No, not busy. We’re on our way down to Busan right now.”

“Busan? Starting from the bottom?”

– “Yes, but we’ve already wrapped up Seoul and Incheon first. I also contacted Mr. Son Baek-geum, as you requested, and left management of Seoul and Incheon in his hands.”

“Nice and clean.”

– “Thank you. But what did you call about, sir?”

“Oh, nothing urgent. But if Gi-won is with you, mind passing him the phone?”

– “Yes, understood.”

Soon after, Seo Gi-won’s voice came through the receiver.

– “Yes, hyung!”

“Hey, Gi-won. Everything good?”

– “All good here! What’s up?”

“Not much. I’m sending over some info via text—dig into those names. If anything shady comes up, organize it and send it all my way.”

– “Got it!”

“All right. Put Kim back on for me, will you?”

– “Yes, sir!”

Kim Geon came back on the line.

– “Yes, Director.”

“Hey, Kim. I’m planning to head back to Cheongsong. You made sure everything was set last time, right?”

– “Yes, all the prep work is fully secured.”

“Good. That’s what I needed to check. Thanks.”

– “Take care, sir.”

After confirming everything, Su-ho hung up.

Then he immediately forwarded the list of candidates from earlier to Seo Gi-won’s phone.

Kim Geon had been on his list to call anyway due to a missed call, so that was efficiently taken care of.

‘Next up...’

Su-ho dialed the next person—Kim I-gang.

– “Hunter!”

A cheerful voice rang from the other end.

The call was just for a mid-operation update.

Kim I-gang had already returned to Seoul, while the Ki siblings decided to tour Jeju a bit longer before heading back.

No major issues to report.

– “Oh, and the Director asked me to pass along a message. He said thank you so much. He’s always waiting, so you’re welcome anytime.”

“Got it. I’ll see you in Seoul.”

Next was Na Do-won.

He reported that he had transferred Seo Do-il and Moon Hye-hyeon to Seoul.

Once the investigation concluded, everything would proceed through official channels. But so far, both of them were cooperative—making the investigation smooth.

Su-ho also called Jo Jin-hwi, Kim Seung-hwan, and Son Baek-geum to follow up on their missed calls.

Everyone had simply called to give mid-mission reports.

Everything was running quickly and efficiently, without incident.

After finishing all his follow-ups, Su-ho finally went to put his phone away.

But then—he paused.

There was one more person he hadn’t contacted.

He raised the phone again and made the call.

It hadn’t been a missed call, but he wanted to be thorough.

– “H-hello?”

A shaky voice came from the other end.

It was Han Myung-ho, the Jeju Branch Chief.

“Good morning, Chief.”

– “Ah, y-yes, g-good morning, Officer... Uh, w-what brings you to call this early...?”

“Oh, nothing in particular. Just wondering if you’ve heard any updates from the others.”

– “U-updates...?”

He meant Seo Do-il and Moon Hye-hyeon.

Han Myung-ho barely managed to respond.

– “Y-yeah, I... heard a little...”

His voice retreated into a whisper.

Had he really heard anything?

Not that it mattered.

Su-ho made the call for one reason: a warning.

“I just called in case you were wondering. You’re a smart man, Chief—I’m sure you know exactly what I’m saying.”

– “Y-yes...”

“Money that’s been stashed away will be found eventually. Don’t make us waste time. Cooperate. It’s better for everyone. That’s all.”

Su-ho hung up.

By that time, he had arrived at Seongsan Port.

After thanking the sailor who brought him over, he got into a car.

‘Next stop... Wiell.’

He could’ve gone straight to challenge the Hallasan Gate.

But he deliberately held off.

It was one of the rare gates he didn’t have full intel on—even with his past life’s knowledge.

Which meant if he was going to do it, he’d do it properly.

‘No rush.’

Vrooom...!

Su-ho’s car sped toward the airport.

***

Vreee...!

Late at night.

A plane landed at Jeju Airport.

Su-ho was aboard.

He had flown back from Cheongok to prepare for the Hallasan Gate.

In truth, preparation at this stage mostly meant gathering Skill Enhancement Pills.

Fortunately, thanks to perfect timing, he’d harvested a batch of Absorption Mushrooms and made a good stockpile.

And he’d grabbed a few other things, just in case.

After landing, Su-ho got into the car he’d left at the airport parking lot and drove straight toward Hallasan.

Vrooom...!

Upon arrival at the Hallasan parking area, Su-ho parked his car.

The mountain staff approached and asked for his identification. When he showed his civil servant ID, they immediately greeted him with respect.

Hallasan was one of the areas managed by the Association, so its staff were part of the Jeju Branch.

‘All right, let’s do this.’

After verifying his ID and parking the car, Su-ho finally began his ascent up Hallasan.